Being an artist in today’s day and age is not all it’s painted out to be. Yes, it’s exciting, thrilling and rewarding to name but a few, but following that it also takes a crazy amount of hard work, unsteady hours and a serious amount of determination to really commit to it.
I had a chat with three different artists in Dublin on what their journey has been like so far and what it takes to make it in their careers.
Melina Malone: Singer
Melina is a Dublin born musician known for her soulful sound and collaborations with Diffusion Lab, mango x Mathman and The RTE Concert Orchestra. Currently working with producer Steven McCann, Melina has quite a few new releases planned for over the next year.
After releasing her first single ‘Now Or Never’ back in November of last year, she is now also working on her next single ‘Realize’ which she hopes to release mid-march.
‘I have always been musical, both my parents are musicians so they taught me how to sing and play the guitar. I also took piano lessons at a very young age so music was always massive in my house’ she shared when asked how she got into music.
‘Sometimes it can be hard to have a steady income as a musician in Dublin for sure. I feel like musicians are truly undervalued in Ireland, and not treated with enough respect for all the cultural significance we have. When starting out, it can be pretty disheartening that you’ll be paid a lot more for cover gigs sometimes than original sets,’ shared Melina.
‘Now though, I have a lot more contacts and friends in the industry, so I’m finding it easier to sustain a career in music. I do hope that we continue to give more platforms to up and coming Irish artists.’
So what exactly does it take to become an artist? ‘Perseverance for sure,’ the artist proclaimed.
‘I think it’s important to have a strong sense of self, and truly hone your craft if you want to have longevity in your career. Learn what kind of artist you want to be. Enjoy what you do and do it for the right reasons!’
Laura McNamee: 2D Designer, Animator and Illustrator
Laura currently works at HMH in Dublin as a 2D Designer and animator which consists of scriptwriting, animatics, sound production, scratch voice-overs, style and asset creation and development, and animation.
‘I changed career-path in my late 20’s. From the age of twenty-one, I was working in insurance, and although it was steady work, it wasn’t what I wanted to spend the majority of my week doing, every week.’
Laura then decided to leave her work at the age of 28 to pursue animation in IADT and luckily received the Animation Skillnet Animation, VFX & Games Graduate Traineeship 2019-2020 shortly after she graduated. However, the journey has not been easy.
‘The industry here is in a state of flux – one studio is shutting down, others just aren’t hiring at the moment, and others prefer to hire directly from Gobelins or The Animation Workshop (two prestigious animation colleges on mainland Europe),’ shared Laura.
‘Sometimes, your CV just doesn’t even get past the recruitment dept of a studio because they don’t even know what the animation director is looking for. There’s a lot of competition out there too, and very little job stability in the animation industry,’ she continued.
‘Animation is a collaborative process. You don’t have to be the best, but you must be willing to learn, determined and co-operative – being a team player gets you further than being an exceptionally brilliant artist who won’t work with others.’
Laura went on to explain, how some people believe being in art or animation full-time will always be fun and are often shocked by the harsh reality that it can be just another ‘desk-job’.
‘On the more physical and practical side of things: artists need support. I think it’s extremely rare that you see an artist “make it big” without financial support from their families or significant others when they were starting out, or through times where no work was available. And that’s just how things are under capitalism’.
When it comes to succeeding in the business, Laura recommends getting your work on social media to get noticed. Go to networking events and lastly, ‘never stop learning!’
Pea Dinneen: Writer
Pea Dinneen is a writer and theatre-maker who is currently focusing on writing and directing her original comedic plays for her company ‘Some People Theatre Company.’
‘I always wrote throughout my teen years; scripts, short stories, poetry – there’d always be something on the go’.
Pea decided to attend Film school after secondary school but soon realised that particular medium didn’t quite fit her. It wasn’t until she came to DCU a few years later and joined the Drama Society that she then started making Theatre.
‘With arts funding in Ireland at a low and rent/living costs at a high, our country is stuck in the trap of desperately needing the arts more than ever while conversely having little resource to facilitate them. As a result, the majority of theatre work in Ireland is self-generated. Which aids creativity but can be difficult to financially sustain. Looking to the future is always a daunting prospect’, she shared.
For those looking to go into the theatre business, Pea stresses how crucial it is to create your own work.
‘Even if someone has the best arts education available, nobody else is going to take notice of you unless there’s a piece of work there for them to see.’
‘There are many small spaces, galleries, and even rooms above pubs that can be rented at either minimal cost or for free. Granted it won’t allow for a technical extravaganza but does provide a platform from which to showcase work,’ Pea continued.
Her advice? Have a creative voice, a point of view and something worth saying.
‘it’s always a million times more interesting to see something original executed a bit haphazardly than to see something generic executed with precision.’